Potato-planter



A. McWHORTER.

POTATO PLANTER.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 4. 1919.

1 ,3 1 4, 683 Patented Sept. 2, 1919.

3 SHEETS-SHEET l.

Afro/Mm T-- 1m: coumlnm PLANMMHI C0,, WASHINGTON, D. 'c.

A. MCWHORTER.

POTATO PLANTER.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 4. ma.

1 ,3 1 4;, 683 Patented Sept. 2, 1919.

3 S'HEETSSHEET 2.

A TTORNE VS.

'run C(HJIMIIH I'LANOOHAPH C0,, wAslnNnToN, I). c.

A. McWHORTER.

POTATO PLANTER.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 4. l9l9.

1 3 1 4, 68 3 Patented Sept. 2, 1919 3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

l/V VEN TOR mwg UNITED STATES PATENT ounron.

ALLEN MQWHORTER, or mvnrvron, NEW JERSEY.

rorA'ro-PLANTER.

Specification of Letters Iatent.

Patented Sept. 2, 1919.

Application filed February 4, 1919. Serial No. 274,868.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ALLEN MOIVHORTER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Riverton, in the county of Burlington, State of New Jersey, have invented a new and useful Potato-Planter, of which the follow- Fig. 2 represents a partial side elevation and partial: vertical section thereof on 2-2 Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 represents a'side elevation on an enlarged scale of the head that carries the devices that'cause primarily the picking or ir'npaling of the potatoes, and next the release (01' stripping of the latter preparatory to dropping them to the. ground.

Fig. 4 represents a verticalsection on line line 4+4 Fig.3.

Fig. 5 represents a-partial plan view and,

apart sectionsof members; shown in Fig. 4.

Fig. 6 represents a vertical section of a modification'of a portion'of the planter.

Similar :numerals of reference indicate correspondingparts :in the figures.

Referring to the drawings. r 1 designates-the frame-of the device, the

. same being mounted by the axle 2 on the running wheels 3,-said axle being provided withthe clutch 4121.10L1I1Cl a member ofwhich passes the.- sprocket chain. 5 which also passes around the sprocket wheel 6 which latter is anounted .on the horizontally extending countershaft or axle 7 and firmly secured thereto, said shaft 7 having ltS hearings .on.

the frame 1 and adapted to be thrown and out of gear by theoperation of sald clutch 4:.

Mountedon-the shaft -7 and .firmly connected therewith; is ,therotatable head 8. Below said .head is the; potato distributing chamber 9 mounted on the frame 1. Said head asit rotateshas its peripheral portion adapted to dip into said chamber and traverse therein from front to rear.

Mounted on the frame above the head 8 is .a suitable potato supply hopper 10, a portion of which is shown in Fig. 1, and

whose lower portion communicates with the distributing chamber 9 forevident purposes, as usual in such cases.

Connected with the frame in front ofthe head 8 is the vertieallyextending discharge chute 11 which is adapted to receive-potatoes that are dropped fromthe head 8, and to direct them to the ground.

These several features broadly considered are well known in the art.

On the side of the head 8 areinounted by the ears lfisecured tosaid head, the radially extending rock shafts 13 one end of each of which carries the. lever 14, and the other end carries the crank arm 15, said arm and lover projecting laterally respectively from the ends-of the shaft with which they are connectel'lyas most plainly shown in Figs.

3, and Attached to the arm 15 is the spring 16 which 'is also attached to the adjacent portion of the rotating head 8, the

latter comprising one side of the distribut-i ing chamber 9, see Fig. 4, the tendencyof said spring being :to place said arm 15 and lever 14. in the positionshown in Fig. 5.

:The outer: endof the lever 14 is enlarged forn'lil'ig the boss-like member 17 .which is deflected *laterally and forms a carrier for the. impaling pins .18 which are secured thereto .in anysuitable manner. Thehead 8 has therein a passage '19 through which said .carrier mayplay and .cause the pins 18 to protrude into the distributing chamber 9, and to be withdrawn, lit being noticed also asin Fig. 3 that'the head 8 is formed witha series of such passages spacedaround the peripheral portion of said head, one

foreach boss of the impaling pins.

Qllilesignates a cam which is connected at the front .with the plate 21 attached to the forward portion of the frame 1. The rear portion, of said cam has thereonthe'boss or collar which is mounted on thecountershaft 7. said cam being so locatedthat 1t 1s inthepath of the arms 15,.as the head 8 carries =.the latter around to said cam whereby said arms engage with saidcam, the tendency is to operate the levers 14, so as to .draw the carriers of the latter outwardly from the passageslQ and withdraw the ii'npaling pins 18 from the distributing chamber 9, as shown at the left side of the head in Fig. 2. Connected with the side of the head 8 adjacent to the passages 19 are the outwardly extending plates 2 3 forming abut- Inents intended to assist in retaining the potatoes on the impaling pins when pierced by the latter.

The operation is as follows -As thedevice is drawn over the ground or field to be planted the shaft 7 receives rotation and this i imparted to the head 8.

When an arm 15 reaches the cam it rides thereover and so operates the lever 14 connected with ,the former, whereby the bosslike. member or carrier of the impaling p-ins slides in outward direction in the passage 19 which it occupies and with it the impallng pins on ,said carrier. Then as the head8" continues its rotation'said arm clears said cam, this occurring aboutthe time that said carrier reaches the base of the distributing chamber 9. Thenthe spring 16 draws said lever toward the head 8 causing the pin carrier to slide in its passage 19 quickly toward said chamber 9, whereby the'impaling pins of said carrier are driven forcibly againsta potato in the path of the same and so penetrate the potato as to take hold thereof whereby the potato is carried around with the rotating'head 8 winthe chamber 9 rearwardly and then upwardly, the potato being backed againstthe plate 23 as an abutment therefor whereby it remains sufficiently impaled by the pins asnnotto fall off of the same. p Y As the head rotates to the front of the frame, the arm 15 again reaches the cam 20 and rides thereover and is so operated bythe same as to move the lever 14 and draw the carrier boss 17 of the'same outwardly in the passage 19, and with it the impalingpms on. said boss from said passage when the portion of the head 8 around said passage 19 has the potato carried against the same by the boss 17 ,and as the latter continues to be drawn outwardly its inner end presses against the potato and so strips the latter from the impaling pins, this being occasioned when the potato reaches'the top of the chamber 9 and upwardly and forwardly in the same," when the stripping and other actions hereinbefore stated are repeated it beingevident that the arms and levers are successively operated and with them the impaling pins and so the impaling of thepotatoes on the pins therefor and the stripping of the same from the latter are uniformly occasioned.

In Fig. 6, I show an impaling pin lever 14? connected with an arm 24* integral therewith and mounted on the ear 25 which is connected. with the head 8*, this being a modification of similar members shown in theother figures, producing however, simi lar results.

Attention is drawn to the fact that the I e impaling pins 18 are made. 1n laterally curved form as most plainly shown in Fig. 5, so as to point toward the abutment 23. By this provision thepins when projected against a potato in their path'strike the same with, a-shock and so single out said potato from its neighbors that it is directed later- .1

ally to said abutment and impelled against the same while it pushes the neighboring potato away from the one that is impaled,

whereby the impalement is reliably efiected.

Then when the pins enter the potato owing I totheir laterally curved form they turn into the same laterally toward the abutment, and

as it were are :hooked intothe p0tato,'andthus take hold of thesame so firmly that it will not fall ofi' of the pins as they are carriedaround by the rotatinghead 8, until they reach the place where they are to be dropped, when they will be stripped from the pins as has been stated. A

Attention is also drawn to the'fact that the passages 19 in the head extend transversely through from side to side of the same in a line of the direction .ofthe countershaft 7, vand' so the levers 1A and consequentlythe bosses 17 are on the side of thehead within theperiphery thereof, so thatthe edge of said periphery. is unobstructedas it enters andleaves the chamber 9, especially when: it

enters the'latter, saidedge then riding con-- centric on the bottom wall of said chamber 9 wlthout projectionsthat would-strike said wall'and interferewith the free rotation of the head, allas-will be "more apparent in Fig. 2.

As the head rotates and carries withiit the levers 14, the bosses 17 on the latter are within the passages 1 whose walls assist inmoving said bosses with said head, thus'relieving said levers of strain when the bosses are weighted by the potatoes on the impaling pins. The bosses 17 limit the impalement of the potatoes and remove them from contact with the head 8.

Having thus described my'invention what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is V 1. In a 'potatoplanter, apo-tato distributing chamber, comprising a rotatable head forininga sidewall thereof, a lever mounted on the s1de of said head, means for operatmgsald lever in opposite directions, said an impaling pin, a potato distributing receptacle, a lever having its free end deflected laterally and adapted to carrysaid pin, sald head having therein a passage through which said deflected free end of the lever is movable into and from said receptacle, and means on-said head and lever for operating the latter in opposite directions, said passage extending through said head from side to side thereof and removed from the periphery ing chamber, comprising a rotatable head forming a side wall thereof having therein 'a passage extending through the same from side to side and removed from the periphery of said head, a lever mounted on the side of said head, means for operating said lever in opposite directions, said lever having on its free end a boss-like member which is adapted to freely occupy said passage and be guided therein in the motions of said lever, and an impaling p-in projecting from said member into said distributing chamber.

l. In a potato planter, a rotatable head, having therein a passage extending through the same from side to side thereof, a shaft carrying said head, an impaling pin, a potato distributing receptacle on the frame and from which said pin is movable, a lever adapted to support the latter, a rock shaft on cam on said frame adapted to engage said arm and impart motion thereto in one direction, and a resilient member adapted to 0perate said arm in an opposite direction whereby said impaling pin is adapted to receive opposite motions relatively to the distributing receptacle.

5. In a potato planter, a rotatable head, a shaft on which the same is mounted, said head having a passage therethrough from side to side thereof, a potato distributing receptacle on the frame, a lever on said shaft, an impaling pin, said lever having its free end deflected laterally forming a carrier for said pin freely occupying said passage, an arm on said shaft adapted to operate said lever, a cam adapted to engage said arm and operate the same in one direction, and a resilient member adapted to operate said arm in an opposite direction whereby said pin receives its opposite motions respectively into and from the interior of said distributing receptacle.

6. In a potato planter, a rotatable head, an impaling pin, a potato-distributing receptacle, a lever having its free end deflected laterally and adapted to carry said pin, said head having therein a passage through which said deflected free end of the lever is movable into and from said receptacle, means on said head and lever for operating the latter in opposite directions, said passage extending through said head from side to side thereof and removed from the periphery of said. head, and an abutment for assisting in retaining the potatoes on the impaling pin.

ALLEN MoWI-IORTER.

I Witnesses:

JOHN A. WVIEDERsI-IEIM, N. BUssINoER.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C. 

